Seconds
Seconds is the ninth episode of Season 2, and the 19th episode overall of the show Continuum. Synopsis Alec's mother is shot by a bullet meant for Julian while Dillon’s new Liber8 task force is put to the test when Kiera must decide how far she will go to stop Julian's murderous future. Recap In a quick preview to what was the year 2035 of the corporate timeline in New Pemberton, a factory city, the world was in a time of unrest and suffering many years before Kiera was born. She talks of the collapse of the public government and it was up to the people to rebuild the city. The corporates imprison workers and then proceed to leave chip implants in their heads to control them if they fall into debt like, in this case, what they did to prisoner 22501 whose citizenship is revoked and is sentenced to a mandatory life sentence. We are then shown hundreds more working in the same drone-like trance as her after receiving her control chip. Back to 2013, Julian is finally being released. As Kiera reads an online article about him at the precinct, while also mentioning to Carlos that the justice system in the future is automated, Dillon returns to the VPD and hands Nora a letter from the Chief of Police, prompting her departure and his return as Inspector. Dillon then calls Kiera and Carlos into his office where he tells them that Escher will now be privately funding the department for the welfare of the citizens, and that Escher had told him that Kiera would understand why he wants to do so. Dillon later gathers his officers and detectives and tells them that, as they now have a separate budget and mandate from the government, it is "time for the gloves to come off", and that they will now attack Liber8 head on instead of waiting for their move. He tells them that their target is Julian, thinking he is still involved with Liber8 and is now being placed under 24/7 surveillance. He instructs Kiera and Carlos to see who will be picking up Julian after his release from prison, and he calls Rosicki and Martinez for a private meeting. After Julian has collected his personal items, along with a note from one of the security guards, his step-mother, Ann Sadler, arrives and warmly greets him. As they leave, the media is waiting outside for him. His mom speaks on his behalf and is shot by a bullet meant for Julian, fired by a man whose daughter the man believes Julian killed. Carlos goes after the shooter, and Kiera goes after Julian, who was instructed by Ann to run to safety. By the time Kiera catches up to him, Julian has gotten into the car of a stranger, Rebecca, one of his fiercest followers. Julian is then taken to the base of Julian's followers. They remind him of the message Julian had written, hoping to have him help with their cause, but Julian wants nothing to do with it. Julian renounces them even more and insists on leaving when he sees that they have Travis with him. Travis asks him to listen, convincing him that those people can be his army, but Julian merely warns the crowd about Travis and leaves, as Travis assures the group that Julian will not be able to help himself and eventually return. Julian, upon reading the note handed to him by the guard earlier and curious enough for answers, goes to Sonya, who then tells him about this destiny and future which Julian still can't make much sense of. Julian tells her that time in prison made him realize that Kagame had used him. Sonya still stubbornly insists that Julian is meant for great things, and when Julian tells him that he will not join forces with her, Sonya tells her that she merely wants Julian to begin becoming the leader he was meant to be. When Lucas gets him alone, he tells Julian that he will spark the revolution and will eventually inspire Liber8. He then hysterically tells Julian that he shouldn't trust Sonya who believes that she traveled from the future and intends to use him to get her name out and lead his followers to believe that she is the true savior. As Lucas leaves, he is seen talking to himself, presumably Kagame in his head, and lets Julian go on the instructions of whomever he believes he is speaking to. With nowhere else to turn, Julian calls Alec. Back at the precinct, Dillon calls out Kiera for attempting to hunt down Julian on her own. With the help of her CMR and some careful eavesdropping, she discovers Julian's whereabouts and surreptitiously heads out after him. As she tries to leave, she's intercepted by two other VPD detectives who've been commanded by Dillon to "do what needs to be done" to get intel on Liber8 from Julian. She brings them along. Alec and Julian meet, laying on the table years of mistrust and resentment, coming to somewhat of a truce. They each struggle with the idea of changing their fate as they grapple with becoming their destined future selves. They head off to visit their mother in the hospital, recovering from being shot, where they reconcile as a family. Just then, Kiera arrives at the hospital while the two VPD detectives taken Julian into custody. He's convinced that Alec betrayed him. They take Julian to an abandoned cabin in the woods. Carlos wants to know what's going on. Dillon explains that Julian was to be captured, detained and questioned – by any means necessary - until he confessed to his crimes and revealed the location of Liber8. At the cabin, the two detectives torture Julian for information. Alec is furious as he witnesses the brutality through Kiera's CMR. She refuses to budge that the future could change for Julian, just as they hope to change the future for Alec. She terminates her CMR connection with Alec. To save the future, Kiera is ready to shoot and kill Julian. Before she can, one of the detectives stops her; Julian escapes. She chases after him into the woods. Carlos arrives, having been tipped off by Alec, and follows them. In a tense standoff at gunpoint, Kiera has been mistakenly convinced this whole time that Kagame told Julian of his future. Julian begs for his life, promising to change. On the precipice of changing the future and wiping Theseus from history, Carlos talks Kiera down. She lowers her gun, letting him live. When Carlos drops off Julian, the boy claims to have changed. Carlos warns Julian that what happened that afternoon was his only pass from Kiera and that next time, he won't be so lucky. Julian returns to the Theseus headquarters. When he learns that Rebecca and Theseus ousted Travis on his orders as leader, he suddenly realizes the great power and influence he now holds, assuming his position of leadership. While talking to Fonnegra, Kiera wonders if her actions, torturing and pointing a gun at Julian, would be what "creates the monster," triggering him to go on the path that she thinks he will in her future. In the end, the controlling chips are revealed to be SadTech technology, implicating Alec as the creator of this essentially mind-controlling device. In the future at New Pemberton, as tens of thousands of innocent people are slaughtered at his command, we see the real motivation for Julian's crusade against the corporations: his perceived betrayal by his own brother Alec, and his massive corporation, SadTech. ---- :::~ Special thanks to Syfy for providing part of the recap.http://www.syfy.com/continuum/episodes/season/2/episode/9/seconds Credits Main Cast * Rachel Nichols as Kiera Cameron * Victor Webster as Carlos Fonnegra * Erik Knudsen as Alec Sadler * Stephen Lobo as Matthew Kellog * Roger Cross as Travis Verta * Lexa Doig as Sonya Valentine * Luvia Petersen as Jasmine Garza * Omari Newton as Lucas Ingram Guest Cast * Jennifer Spence as Betty Robertson * Richard Harmon as Julian Randol * Adam Greydon Reid as Clayton * Janet Kidder as Ann Sadler * Brian Markinson as Inspector Dillon * Catherine Lough Haggquist as Inspector Nora Harris * Bruce Ramsay as Detective Rosicki * Darcy Laurie as Detective Martinez * Tanaya Beatty as Rebecca * Mark Gash as Larry * Kelly Konno as Nurse * Vincent Tong as Hector * Tony Alcantar as Future Clerk * Ese Atawo as Future Guard * Vincent Cheng as Prisoner 23819 * Alicia Thorgrimsson as Prisoner 22501 * Larry Hoe as Desk Sheriff * Stray Bullet as Sheriff * Camillia Mahal as Arms Dealer Quotes :Kiera: When darkness falls and fear sets in, he'll be the one the nightmares bring. Black, his soul, and cold, his core, he'll paint a T across your door. :Carlos: I don't remember that one. :Kiera: That was our nursery rhyme growing up. Theseus was the monster under every child's bed. :Carlos'': ''Sounds grim. :Kiera: He killed tens of thousands. Created an army, launched attacks against cities and towns, destroyed anyone who didn't agree with his radical vision. He inspired Liber8. :Carlos: And Julian is Theseus? It's too hard to reconcile. :Kiera: Every monster starts off as someone's baby. : Kiera: Theseus united the people of ancient Greek mythology. He rallied against their system, one he thought was archaic and corrupt. ---- :Kiera: (voiceover) Many years before I was born was a time of unrest and suffering. Public government collapsed. In the years that followed, everyone had to pull together and do their share to build a better society. People worked at New Pemberton and other factory cities throughout the Union to create a better future. But that was destroyed by one man and the zealots who followed him. Trivia Goofs *When Julian Randol falls into the ravine, his handcuffs disappear and reappear between shots. References Category:Episodes Category:Season 2 Episodes